Holcim is the world’s largest cement manufacturer. In addition, it is the parent company of a wide range of innovative cement-related businesses—companies developing new cement applications, often focused on decarbonisation, as well as on emerging construction techniques such as 3D printing. Holcim operated from several offices across Switzerland, all organised as traditional cellular offices. The ambition was to consolidate these locations into a single headquarters in Zug and, at the same time, guide the organisation towards a future-proof way of working. The new office needed to represent the organisation, entice employees to return to the workplace, and accommodate a wide variety of work styles.

One of the key challenges was that Holcim’s spaces are spread throughout the Grafenau building, with areas located on the ground floor and the 3rd and 4th floors. In addition, the different office wings have no direct physical connection. To ensure that all these spaces would still be experienced as one coherent whole, the design was conceived as a three-dimensional campus. Individual functions, such as meeting rooms, Zoom rooms, and print area’s, are designed as standalone “building blocks” with a recognisable formal language inspired by Holcim’s own DNA: cement.